The Hurricanes took to the Watsco Center for the first time since losing there in the second round of the NCAA tournament last season, beating the Nova Southeastern Sharks 90-46 in their one and only exhibition game before the regular season starts.
Miami showed their dominance against the smaller Sharks team from opening tip, finishing with 50 more points in the paint and 30 more rebounds. The Sharks started the game on fire, hitting four of nine shots from the three point range in the first quarter. Miami would make some adjustments after the first quarter though, keeping the Sharks at bay and allowing just 2 of 16 from the three point range the rest of the game.
“[Esabelle Levine] played last year very well against us as well. We knew she was a shooter and she came out and got shots. That usually doesn’t happen,” head coach Katie Meier said after the win. “Usually, when we give someone attention, they don’t get what they want in this gym. So, we had a talk about that, and the team figured it out.”
Miami would blow the game open in the second quarter, outscoring the Sharks 18-2 and taking a 46-20 halftime lead. Miami never looked back from there as the second half would be more of the same, with Miami outscoring the Sharks 44-26 while shooting 47 percent from the field in the second half. It was a balanced attack for Miami, as all 12 players scored and played at least 10 minutes in the game. The well rounded attack wasn’t a revelation to Meier, who believes she has a team full of solid players.
“All 12 of these players showed you tonight why I have a plan for each one of them, we’re going to play a lot of players. They’re good,” Meier said.
Miami shot 54.3 percent from the field, led by ACC Preseason Player of the Year, redshirt senior Beatrice Mompremier, with 16 points. She also had 11 rebounds and 4 blocks in just 15 minutes. Junior guard Endia Banks added 10 points (5 of 6 shooting from the field), five rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes. Banks is confident in the team’s ability to have a great season.
“I think the team is capable of going pretty far,” Banks said. “As long as we work hard, come out each and every game and play to the potential that we know we all have, I think we can go pretty far.”
The Hurricanes will start the regular season at home on Sunday Nov. 10 vs. Jackson State at 3 p.m.